This black and white photograph shows a Volga German family from Ellis, Kansas. Like many Volga Germans the family was likely lured to Kansas by advertising campaigns that promoted the sale of productive farmland and exemption from military service on religious grounds. These incentives encouraged many Volga Germans to migrate to Ellis, Rush, and Russell counties in Kansas to buy the lands owned by the railroad companies. In those close knit and sometimes isolated communities, German customs and strong religious beliefs were maintained for several decades.

Kansas Memory

Kansas Historical Society

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This black and white photograph shows a Volga German family from Ellis, Kansas. Like many Volga Germans the family was likely lured to Kansas by advertising campaigns that promoted the sale of productive farmland and exemption from military service on religious grounds. These incentives encouraged many Volga Germans to migrate to Ellis, Rush, and Russell counties in Kansas to buy the lands owned by the railroad companies. In those close knit and sometimes isolated communities, German customs and strong religious beliefs were maintained for several decades.